Beauty and the Beast
by meerkaat
Summary: "There may be something there that wasn't there before." Something is happening between Hermione and Remus. A pull that is new to them both. Will they fight it, or accept that they are mates? Shameless, I know. Rated M just in case.
1. Chapter 1

**I had this idea, and with Beauty and the Beast coming to theaters soon I thought I'd run with it. Loosely inspired by the story. This will undoubtedly be very "fluffy" with minimal angst. This is a another Hermione pairing, with the Beast role being filled by none other than Remus Lupin. He's obviously alive, and was never with Tonks. Please review and feel free to PM me any ideas you may have for the story. I don't have any real idea where I might take it yet. _Edited._**

 **All H.P. related things belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros.**

 **oOoOoOo**

 _ **Tale as old as time**_

 _ **True as it can be**_

 _ **Barely even friends**_

 _ **Then somebody bends**_

 _ **Unexpectedly**_

 **oOoOoOo**

Hermione shuffled the stack of papers in her hand, searching for the ones that needed her Department Head's signature. Finding what she needed, she knocked on the door that said "R. J. Lupin". He was currently the head of the recently renamed Department for the Care of Magical Beings, formerly the Department for The Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. In the five years since the war, the Ministry of Magic transformed from a farce to an actual governing body. Hermione still thought there was plenty room for change but had to admit it was much better than it had been. _A person could actually be proud to work here._

"Come in," a deep voice called through the door. She pushed the heavy door open.  
"Hello, Mr. Lupin? I have a few papers that need your signature."  
Remus looked up at Hermione and smiled. "Haven't I told you that you can call me Remus? We're colleagues now, not to mention you've known me for years."  
She shot him a wry smile. "You're right, it's just a habit. First you were my professor and now you're my boss. Anyways, there are two indictments and one order for Wolfsbane that need your autograph." Remus motioned her over to his desk. She positioned herself next to him to point out where he would need to sign. Remus stiffened and looked up at her, seeming to search her face. "Everything alright Remus?"  
"Oh, yes. I think I just got a whiff of your perfume is all. Very lovely smell by the way."  
"I don't wear any, tends to put off some of the creatures and beings I work with. Thank you though." Remus looked at her for another moment before turning back to his desk. With a flourish, he finished the last signature and handed her the small stack.  
"All set, see that you don't stay too late tonight. It's Friday and you should be out having fun with your friends," he said. She merely waved a hand as she exited the office.

The whole time she was in his office, she had been fighting with herself. Something about Remus beckoned to her. She wanted to run her hands through his hair and rub her cheek against his chest. He had always been a handsome man, but the years were kinder to him now than ever. He cut quite the figure to Hermione and today he was just practically irresistible. He just looked so strong. Like he could protect her from anything.  
Her inner-feminist began chastising her. She didn't need protecting. She'd brought down her fair share of foes and was the brightest witch of her age.  
Shaking her head, she made her way back to her cubicle. What had gotten in to her?

* * *

Remus puzzled over the small encounter. Something about her was different. Lighter than he remembered. Not to mention her smell. He had never been so enticed by something before. His every instinct demanded he stand up and bury his face in the crook of her neck.  
No matter. That was something he wouldn't ever do. They had a very good working relationship but rarely spoke outside of the Ministry and the Weasley gatherings they attended. It was getting close to the full moon, he reasoned. That had to be it.

The rest of the day was a blur of meetings and memos. The department had a very large case coming up There was a dragon egg smuggling ring and the man behind it all had finally been caught. Hermione was spearheading the investigation and indictment. To Remus, there was no other option for a case of this caliber. Remus sniffed, catching the scent he got off her earlier. It was as if thinking about her brought it back.  
Like a forest after a storm, fresh and heady all at once.

Remus came back to himself with his hand on the doorknob. Had he really been going to go find her? There was something strange going on and he vowed to get to the bottom of it. After he found her. She had a habit of skipping lunch and he wasn't having it. There was a cart down in the atrium that sold sandwiches.

He made his way down and got one for the both of them. Perhaps she would be up to take a lunch break with him. Merlin knows, she deserved it. He made his way through the department until he came to her cubicle.  
"Knock knock. Taken lunch yet?" he asked. Hermione turned in her chair to face him, arms crossed.  
"Haven't yet. Why? Got any food to go with that chipper attitude?" He laughed as he took the chair next to her desk.  
"As it happens, I do. I know you don't always take the time to eat so I took the liberty of getting you a sandwich from downstairs."  
"Thanks, Remus. I was getting pretty hungry so you have perfect timing. With the Kelly case going on I've been so swamped. Don't always remember to slow down until I've gone back home." She took the sandwich and unwrapped it, signalling to Remus to do the same. They spent an hour chatting comfortably about work and eating together. The entire time Remus kept catching the faintest whiff of her scent. It had his wolf pacing, trying to find a crack in the confines of his mind to engage Hermione.

As he was leaving back to his own office, Moony was howling the same word over and over again to Remus. _Mate._


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter is in Remus's POV, the next will be in Hermione's.**

Remus watched as Hermione herded Owen Kelly into the interrogation room. The man was the leader of a dragon egg smuggling ring outside Dublin. He was also nasty business. Every instinct demanded Remus go and grab Hermione. He didn't want to have her in a room alone with him.  
She would have his head though. Ever since he discovered that the witch was his mate, he was in a constant battle with himself. He wanted to protect her. He also wanted to make her happy. He was able to sense her most basic feelings like hunger and irritation. Moony was begging to see to each of them, to do whatever it took to make her happy. Remus was having to tighten the leash, so to speak, so he didn't alarm the poor woman.

Giving in to his and his wolf's desires, he swept into the room after Hermione and Kelly. Hermione looked up at him, eyebrow raised.  
"Can I help you Mr. Lupin? I'm about to start questioning Mr. Kelly."  
"Yes, I'm aware Ms. Granger. I'm going to observe." He could feel the confusion and annoyance coming off of her. She was wondering if she had done something wrong or if he didn't trust her. The smug smile on Kelly's face was irritating.  
"Please, continue," Remus said.  
Hermione took out a piece of parchment, a pen, and a muggle recording device. She set them up and then straightened up in her chair to look Kelly in the eye."Mr. Kelly, this interview is being recorded. Do you understand that anything you say can be used against you during your trial?"  
"Aye," Kelly answered. His voice was gruff, likely do to smoking and drinking frequently. Mundungus Fletcher had the same quality of voice.

Hermione continued to ask him questions, confirming aspects of his home and job. "Mr. Kelly, you own roughly 200,000 square metres of land. That's a lot of space. It's also reported you have strong containment wards all over the land. What could you possibly be trying to keep in that needs that much space?"  
Kelly leaned forward, a smirk on his face. "Afraid I have monsters and creatures? I can assure you missy, there ain't nothin' there to concern your pretty head with. I can show you sometime, if you're wantin'. Hasn't been a lass yet who's left my home unsatisfied."  
Remus moved to stand behind Hermione.  
"You can keep any crass comments to yourself, Mr. Kelly. This is a formal interview," he ground out. Hermione was giving off annoyance in waves. At him or at Kelly?"Mr. Lupin, may I speak to you outside?"

She stood up and left the room, leaving him with no choice but to follow. "Have there been any complaints lodged against me?" she asked.  
"No, why would you ask that?"  
"Why am I not conducting the interview on my own? Do you not trust me to be professional? Have I not done this many times before?" She was in fine form. Her arms were crossed and her hair was beginning to give off sparks. Moony was pacing back and forth, beside himself for upsetting his mate.  
"This is no reflection on your past performances, Hermione. I just wanted to observe how you work. Not to mention Kelly is a real piece of work. I wanted to be available if you needed any help," Remus said, trying to placate. Hermione sniffed and straightened her jacket.  
"Well, if you merely feel I am inept and in need of supervision then I am sorry for protesting." She started reaching toward the door handle. Remus put a hand on her arm to stop her.  
"Please, Hermione. I didn't mean to upset you. We both know that you are more than capable to interrogate Kelly. Go in and continue. Get me the report by 5."

He turned and walked to his office. His mate was still upset, his wolf was upset, and Kelly would be in a warded room with Hermione alone. He slammed his door and dropped into his chair. It was going to be a long day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the wait, the beta search has been unsuccessful so far. I apologize for any formatting errors or grammatical errors. I try to catch them all but it's an ongoing battle. Thank you for all of the reviews and follows. It makes me smile each time I see a new one.**

Hermione escorted Kelly out, the whole time trying to keep her cool. How dare he? Remus had no place to undermine her interrogation. She was damn good at her job. Because of him, Kelly lost any professional respect he may have had for her, if he had any at all. She knew that he was a bad man. Anyone who looked at him could tell that. Had she not proven herself capable of defending herself over the years? When would she be taken seriously? She made her way back up to the office. She would keep her cool. Hermione Granger did not chastise her boss publicly. Remus would be getting an earful when they were alone together, that much was for sure. She entered her cubicle and saw that there was a cup of fresh coffee on her desk. A note that simply said " _sorry_ " was next to it. She recognized the handwriting, she had seen it enough on memos. Remus had obviously left it for her. Some of the fire left, and that lasted a total of thirty seconds.

Did he really think that a simple cup of coffee would make treating her like a child okay? There was no way he was getting off that easily. She sat down and sipped on the coffee. It was really quite good. He was one of a few people who not only knew that she preferred coffee, but also how much sugar she liked in it. She sorted through her files, spelling certain ones to make duplicates for Archives. She didn't even realize that each sip relaxed her. By the time she was done, she wasn't even mad at him. She was still upset. She wanted to know why he didn't trust her.

* * *

"Hey, are you available for lunch?" Hermione looked up, Harry was standing outside her cubicle.

"I'm about to organize all of my files, I was just going to take a late lunch." Her friend frowned at her and then extended his hand.

"I'm not taking no for an answer. Besides, I'm buying." He pulled her up from her chair before she could protest.

They went down to the cafeteria and ordered their meals. Harry handed a few galleons to the woman at the register.

"So, I heard that Remus aided you in an interrogation," he said. Hermione scoffed.

"Aided? He supervised me, like I was some trainee that didn't know how to do my job. It completely put a stop to any rapport Kelly and I could have had."

Harry continued to chew his sandwich. He put it down and took a long swig of his water. Hermione could tell that he was trying to figure out how to word something. Which meant that she was about to get a dose of reality.

"I think you may be overreacting. You and I both know that Remus has absolute trust in you, you're practically his number two in the office. I also know the reputation Owen Kelly has. He's been in an out of our system for years, before I was even in the Auror department. Could it be possible that he was there to keep an eye on Kelly, not on you?" Harry finished. Hermione sighed and massaged her temples.

"Even if that is the case, Remus knows I'm fully capable of taking care of myself," she said.

"You're still his responsibility. If he feels there could be a threat to you, then he needs try to neutralize it. He would have done that for any other employee. So why are you taking this so personally?" he asked.

She pushed her food around on her plate. Why did she care so much? She knew that Remus trusted her, and she knew that he thought she was competent. Yet the thought that he didn't had upset her so much, and she finally realized why. She cared about Remus, not only his opinion of her. She wanted him to respect her and possibly care about her one day. She pushed her plate away and pinched the bridge of her nose. _Why me?_

"Figure it out then, did you?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I think I got it. Thanks Harry. I'm going to go back up to the office but I'll see you and Ginny Sunday at the Weasley's."

They stood up and embraced, then Hermione left. She cared about Remus. When had that happened?

* * *

Back in her cubicle, Hermione made the decision to treat Remus like she normally did. She wasn't mad at him anymore but she didn't want to risk him finding out she had feelings for him. She could deal with them herself until they dissipated.

A small voice in the back of her head whispered " _But what if they never do_?"

Hermione had to admit, something about all of this felt so right. Like acknowledging she cared for him put the puzzle into perspective. There were still pieces missing, but she knew what the image was. She would just have to figure everything out. There was time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the delay between chapters. I was writing when my state was hit by Hurricane Matthew and then I had to deal with the aftermath. All I can say is wow. Mother Nature really knows how to flex. I apologize for any format or grammatical errors. I still don't have a beta and also wanted to get this chapter out. Please R &R :) thanks.**

 **oOoOoOo**

 _ **Just a little change  
**_ ** _Small to say the least  
_** ** _Both a little scared  
_** ** _Neither one prepared  
_** ** _Beauty and the Beast_**

 **oOoOoOo**

When Remus woke up, the first thing he noticed was the ached all over. The full moon was in 2 days and he was feeling it. Thank Merlin it was a Sunday. He was almost relieved until he remembered he was due at the Weasley's for dinner. He pulled himself out of bed, resigned to the fact that he would in pain all day.

Molly Weasley's dinners were almost the same as they were five years ago. The only difference was that there were more people than there used to be, Kingsley and Remus being an example, and The Burrow was magically enlarged to fit the new crowd.

Remus stepped from the Floo and into a tight hug from Molly.

"Remus, darling! How are you? Oh I noticed the moon will be full soon, this isn't too much on you? Thank you so much for coming." As swiftly as she grabbed him, she released him and was on to the next of her flock. Remus was about to head to a chair in the corner when he heard her laughing. He turned him head and saw Hermione in group with Harry, Ginny, and Charlie. She was laughing at something Charlie had just said, her hand on his upper arm. Remus's eyes narrowed at that. Moony had a stronger reaction. He had to stop himself from tackling the redhead. He didn't know he was flirting with a man's MATE. Before he could stop himself, he was striding over to the group.

"Remus, how have you been?" Charlie asked.

"I'm fine, bit sore. How's Romania treating you?'' The group didn't notice when Remus slowly inserted himself between Hermione and Charlie.

"Charlie, I've been meaning to ask you a few questions about something we're working one. If someone wanted to keep a dragon or two, would 200,000 metres or land be enough?" Hermione asked

Charlie's brow furrowed. "For one dragon, that would technically be enough. They would be pretty cramped. Keeping two dragons would be possible but I don't know anyone crazy enough to try it. The wards would need to be extremely complex to keep them inside. They wouldn't be healthy either. For any kind of dragon. If you'll be needing any other information, I would gladly be willing to go on record as an expert."

"Oh that would be perfect! The team has been considering bringing one in. You could really help us build a stronger case." Hermione was reaching across the group to embrace him.

The group slowly turned toward Remus.

"Everything okay, mate?" Harry asked him. That was when Remus realized he had been growling at Charlie. He tried his best to turn it into a cough.

"Yeah, just the wolf. Er, hormones and all that. Moon's coming soon. I'll just excuse myself really quick." He left before anyone could say anything.

* * *

Hermione was absolutely confused. Remus was never one to display such behavior, even this close to a full moon. She excused herself from the group and went to go check on him. She went down the hallway and peeked inside a couple of rooms before she found Remus leaning over the bathroom sink. His face was wet like he had just splashed himself with water to cool down.

"Is everything alright?" Hermione asked him. He gripped the counter tighter.

"I think you should leave me alone for a bit," he bit out. Instead of listening to him, she grabbed a wash rag and wet it. She folded it and placed it on the back of Remus' neck.

"When you calm down, you're going to tell me what's going on," she told him. He placed his hand over hers on the back of his neck.

"You really don't want to know what's going on with me." He looked up at her with amber eyes. Hermione wracked her brain, trying to figure out what was triggering Moony.

"Am I too close?" she asked. Remus stood up straight and took a step closer to her.

"Not close enough," he said, voice having dropped an octave. Hermione ignored the warm feeling that spread through her.

"I need you to explain if I'm going to help you." She didn't move. She had learned the hard way that backing down made you prey.

"What would you do help me?" He moved even closer, until their chests were nearly touching. His head was bowed low so she had to turn hers up. Her heart was racing and she couldn't tear her eyes away from his lips. He slowly lowered his head until their lips were just barely making contact. Hermione drew in a shaky breath and Remus used the opportunity to claim a kiss. Every rational thought had left that room. What was left was pure instinct. Hermione stepped into his embrace and wrapped her arms around his neck. Remus slid his hands up her back, drawing her as close as possible. He moved to press open-mouthed kisses along her jaw and neck. She felt his teeth graze the skin of her shoulder and stretched her neck out, offering him more. When he lightly sucked, she couldn't hold back a small moan.

All of a sudden Remus stepped back and the lack of contact left her cold.

"I'm sorry Hermione. I lost control of myself."

She fought back the disappointment. That passion wasn't something real. That was just Moony taking over for a few minutes.

"I understand, I shouldn't have let it go that far. I apologize."

Remus rubbed his hands over his face and groaned.

"No, actually, you don't. I didn't want to tell you this way but it seems I've been left no choice. I almost marked you," he told her. When he was only met with a stare, he pressed on.

"Hermione, Moony has recognized your magic. You're our mate."


End file.
